What's new
What's new

A curious way to rifle a barrel....

kd1yt

Cast Iron
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Location
Vermont, USA
I was watching a really cool YouTube video showing a restored vintage sine bar rifling machine in operation, and on a whim, searched "rifling machine" on ebay. No luck on chancing into a neglected but restorable sine bar machine near me at an afforadble price (or anywhere- yes, I knew this was daydream category, but stranger things have happened with other things that I have in fact bought and brought home).

But I did find something that, if nothing else, may provide amusement - the apparent Ginsu Knife for would-be-rifle-ers-everywhere, the "Barrel Buttun Rifling Macchine" [spellings copied from original ad copy]

button rifler using hydraulic jack.JPG

Portable Barrel Rifling Machine for Button Rifling Process Push Chamber Reamer | eBay

The only thing that I can figure is that spiralling formed on the button itself is supposed to actually cause the button to turn as it is shoved through the hole down the barrel?

It slices, it dices, and it apparently even functions as a chamber reamer (though I am very unclear how). It probably even allows you to change your flat tire.

I am disappointed to realize that this is unlikely to pose competitive threat to Douglas, Shilen, or any user aspiring to precision and accuracy... but it gets some credit for novelty...
 
I don't think it's for mass production. it's meant for people who live in countries with onerous gun
restrictions who have to build their own.
 
The rifling machines I've seen in operation were built on a modified horizontal broaching machine.There was a system set up on the machine that turned the button at the rifling twist rate as the button was pulled thru the barrel.The same machine was also used for broaching barrels.Tooling was changed and a oil coolant setup installed.The change over from buttoning to broaching was done in a matter of minutes.I rather doubt the device on EBay would work.
I believe I've seen rifling buttons on EBay as well.They were the push thru type instead of pull thru.The device on EBay should allow you to get a button stuck in the barrel blank though.
 
From what I see it's an attachment for a hydraulic jack that uses various rods to push a rifling button through a barrel. The concept is functional. But... and this a big but, the end result will be full of tool marks as the button is pushed one stroke of the jack... then stops. Then gets pushed again... and stops...

The end result may look like rifling, but will be rough as a cob. Fouling is gonna be a major issue.

Old school single point cut rifling would be a much better choice. JMHO, YMMV.
 
I did watch some yt videos made by a guy who was known for his .50BMG rifles but can't think of his name right now. He was buying rifling buttons on ebay from both China and Europe and was successfully rifling barrels with a minimum amount of equipment. I don't have time to search for them now but they should be easily found.
 
Im sure a lot of the el cheapo barrels on the market are buttoned by simple pull without any powered rotation of the button save the tendency of the grooves formed to rotate the tool.........however ,rifling pitch variations are a well known fault in buttoned barrels causing mysterious inaccuracy,and name makers invest heavily in devices to detect this fault in the finished product.......I doubt any of this concerns the basement builder of illegal arms in Manchester or Leeds.,likely customers of the jacking device........incidentally, a workable chamber for say 9mmx19 can easily be swaged into a barrel,not really necessary anyway,because some sort of lathe is essential in the manufacture of the blank any way.
 
Having been to shilen and watched the buttons pulled through the barrel, the press used to do it does not turn the button at all, the twist of the button causes the rotation.
According to the techs there , the conformity of the hole drilled , then reamed, then honed in the barrel first is more important than the button pulling, then followed by the bore lapping after rifling. One additional step which is very important is the inspection process where the bArrels are inspected , graded, or rejected and re bored.
 
I doubt any of this concerns the basement builder of illegal arms in Manchester or Leeds

I doubt rifling is high on the processes list either.
Notwithstanding, it just proves mans ingenuity and the total waste of time some gun laws (anti-gun laws) are. If there are some things a person cannot get or have access to, they will just make one.
 
.. proves mans ingenuity and the total waste of time some gun laws (anti-gun laws) are. If there are some things a person cannot get or have access to, they will just make one.

"Real Lawbreakers" probably settle for smoothbore, anyway. If they DIY at all. Few do.

Whole lotta things, hulled, winged, wheeled, tracked, four legged, two-legged, belly-crawler or finny-fish been kilt with smoothbores over a longish history, bombards through Carronades to tank main guns, or muskets to shotguns.
 
Having been to shilen and watched the buttons pulled through the barrel, the press used to do it does not turn the button at all, the twist of the button causes the rotation.
According to the techs there , the conformity of the hole drilled , then reamed, then honed in the barrel first is more important than the button pulling, then followed by the bore lapping after rifling. One additional step which is very important is the inspection process where the bArrels are inspected , graded, or rejected and re bored.


You are correct. The Shilen Swap Meet wil be on April 4th. Lots of goodies.
 
This reminds me of the presses people commit with a jack and some awkward mechanism to hold it when proper hydraulic cylinders are not that hard to come by. I have a single use broaching press made with a cylinder I bought at an auction and a small hydraulic pump and reservoir I got new from a surplus store. With a different frame, it could easily be converted to a power rifling machine for a minimum investment.

Bill
 
I been looking round the yard for bits.....found some small bore 6ft stroke cylinders from a truck crane,and some conrods from a small Perkins .....think the bigend bore is same as ram OD,meaning I can mount two rams in conrods ,and use the rams as a frame for the machine,and as a track for the pulling head....need some more bits ,still looking.Got a couple of big old lathes ,but they are a bit heavy ,but still may use them for the main part of the machine....Pumps ,valves hoses,got all that ....lotsa junk is good ,you dont have to buy anything.
 
True ,but some of us iz millenials ,and there is 3 ways we do stuff .....easy way /even easier way/not at all......so where does getting all hot and sweaty come into it?
 








 
Back
Top